BY GIRMACHEW GASHAW
Today’s Guest Azene Bekele (PhD) was born and raised in Efrata and Gedem woreda of North Showa, Ethiopia. When he became school-aged, he joined primary school at Majete town and continued secondary school education in Debresina town. He then decided to join Hailemariam Mamo secondary school in search of quality education.
When he was an 11th grader, he was one of the 200 students selected to attend the training given by the Addis Ababa University with a vision of hiring them as a teacher in various schools. He refused it as he had no desire to be a teacher. After passing the Ethiopian School Leaving Certificate Examination, he joined Wondogenet Forestry College and held a diploma in forestry.
He had served in various capacities including head of the district Forestry, Wildlife officer in Dire-Dawa administration Council, and promoted as Technical Section Head of the Regional Forestry and Wildlife Office of the then Harrarge Town. Parallel to this, he used to lecture at Wondogenet Forestry College on a part-time basis. Dr. Azene was also Agroforestry Desk staffer for the Ministry of Natural Resources Conservation and Environment Protection.
Due to his strong desire for education, he shared his desire to extend education until he earned a doctoral degree. In order to realize the plan of extending education, he had been searching for scholarship opportunities. After passing various ups and downs, he was accepted by Wisconsin and Washington Universities. Accordingly he also received first and second degree in forest, range management and Agroforestry from Washington State University within four years. He obtained the Education Warrior Award presented for the student who scored the highest point.
He returned home. However, the situation in the country was not good as the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Front (EPRDF) controlled power. Due to the trouble he encountered at home and achieving the dream of holding a doctoral degree, he again searched for a scholarship. Consequently, he graduated in the Water and Land Management field of study from Wageningen Agricultural University, the Netherlands.
He had also served as a lecturer at Alemaya University and Wondo Genet Forestry College. He was an external examiner of PhD students at Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences and Wageningen Agricultural University and Research center. Dr. Zenebe served as the Secretary of the International Soil Conservation Organization (ISCO) from January 1, 1988 to February 1, 1990.
With the capacity he has, Dr. Azene rendered service for international organizations. He has played decisive role while working as Capacity Building Advisor for the Regional Land Management Unit (RELMA) of Swedish International Development Agency (SIDA) and continued to provide service as Capacity Building Advisor for Research on Development Department of World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF) for additional five years.
From 2007 to 2013, he had been serving as a Technical Advisor for the Ministry of Agriculture and Animal resources (MINAGRI) of Rwanda. While in Rwanda, he has developed a number of bankable Land-husbandry, Water-harvesting and Hillside-irrigation (LWH) projects which have been fully financed by multiple donors. He has been instrumental in justifying many of these LWH-related projects technically.
He has authored and co-authored a number of books, book chapters and articles since 1988. Among the many relevant publications are: books called Useful Trees and Shrubs, Profitable Agroforestry Innovations, Adding Value and Improving Approaches for Effective Teaching and Learning, Curriculum for In-service Training in Land-resources Management, Tanzania, Crafting the Missing Link, Farmers’ Competence Initiative and others.
Currently Dr. Azene just finalized the Roadmap for the National Integrated Land Use Planning. Currently, he is: The coordinator for the development of Integrated Land use and Development master Plan (ILDP) of Gambella Peoples Regional State at the Horn of Africa Regional Environment Centre and Network (HoAREC&N) under Addis Ababa University.
He is now, owner and General Manager of Azene Bekele Tesemma Professional Consulting firm, Managing Director of Wisdom-Seeder schools,Board member of Tana Pulp and Paper Company founded in Bahir-Dar city of Amhara State, Ethiopia. He has been working as a capacity building advisor for Horn of Africa Regional and Center Network at Addis Ababa University. The Ethiopian Herald spent an hour with him to discuss a range of issues. Excerpts;
After you made the first and second degrees, you returned home. I think the situation was not comfortable for you? Would you please explain to our esteemed readers about the challenge you encountered?
When I completed my masters’ degree, I was to get a job in USAID, but I refused it so as to fulfill the dream of serving my beloved country which bestowed all things for me. The first challenge I encountered was, the country has no budget allocated to realize the plan I had. Second, the Forest and Environment Ministry on one hand needed me to work there. On the other hand, GIZ requested me to go to Harar. The coalition was created between these two institutions.
Finally, the issue was solved and I began to serve the Ministry under the Soil Protection Directorate. I worked six months without receiving a salary, as the position I was assigned had no budget. Realizing that the scenario was not comfortable to me, I requested them to render the opportunity to attend third degree and went to the Netherlands.
Up on returning home I joined the Natural Resource Ministry. Following the restructure undergone by the EPRDF, they made me floater and decided to collect my monthly salary without doing a task. But, I was embarrassed. Considering the issue, they then assigned me to Aisaita town of Afar State. They pushed me to leave the organization, even though I was the first agro-forester in Ethiopia.
The main reason they have to do this to me is my ethnicity. But, the primary desire I had was, lifting the country from the vicious cycle of poverty. Since then, I decided to establish my own consultancy firm called Ethio Forest Agricultural and Consulting Service which created ample job opportunities for many Ethiopians.
Various loopholes are observed in our country’s land use system even if it is a source of poverty and instability. Would you comment on that?
Ethiopia does not have a land use plan. There is no state that has the best land use plan. However, States regulation showed that they will have land use plans and policy. We see their intention but still not practical. As a result of this, the wildlife of Ethiopia are on the verge of migrating to neighboring countries —as most of them are presently observed in Gambella state. There is a huge amount of wet land in the state Had there been a land policy in the country, this would not have been devoted to agricultural land. Instead of preparing land use plans and identifying our land’s capacity and potential so as to be assigned for different purposes, we refrain ourselves from doing so and the country is seriously affected.
You had worked in Rwanda as an advisor of Rwanda in the issue of agriculture and
worked in President Paul Kagame’s land. I heard that you had worked there using the knowledge and capacity you have and ensured food self-sufficiency. How was that possible?
Before I go to elaborate this point, I want to share with you the incident that motivated me to work in an international organization. While working day and night in the consultancy business, my role model and friend died due to heart problems. I realized that I would one day encounter the same problem.
From that day onwards, I decided to work in international organizations so as to get experience. I closed my business and joined the Regional Land Management Unit, an organization fully funded by SIDA. When the company was annexed – as World Agroforestry System, I had served as capacity building advisor and visited China, Thailand, India and a range of countries to share experiences. I then decided to leave the job as the organization does not provide senior scientist rank due to my black race.
By then the Rwanda Agriculture Ministry moved to hire a person like me. They contacted me. I went there and advised them on ways to come out of stagnant productivity and increase yield. Second, even if the land is blessed with good soil, they need me to stop the landslide. Third, a third of the country has not obtained more than 600mm rain. I worked first in Paul Kagame’s land and made a difference, assisted with the technology I already invented and ensured food self-sufficiency in Rwanda replicating the practice to other areas. President Paul Kagame thanked me and had a pleasant breakfast with me.
If Ethiopia uses its land properly like that of Rwanda, the country has a capacity to feed 800 million people which means it will ensure food self-sufficiency and export surplus products. The big thing here is the absence of challenging institutions. For instance, if you provide a quota for a given ministry to develop a certain land, deliver as per the promise, it is possible to make a difference in the agriculture sector. Any authority should be accountable for the task done or not.
How do you evaluate the situation in Ethiopia as a citizen of this country?
I don’t know what I can say. I am not good at politics. We should not be jack of all trades. The problem in Ethiopia is, people consider that they have a knowledge that they generate from their authority—they realize that they have knowhow of everything. This makes me sad. The present situation of Ethiopia is, the country has faced a big challenge. I am very concerned about it. Apart from this, what makes me awful is, unable to ensure food self-sufficiency. On my part, if there is a possibility, I am ready to intervene and contribute something for Ethiopia before I go to my creator.
This is a well-tested practice. When Gedu Andargachew was President of Amhara state, he temporarily gave me the land found in the Bazgibla area. The farmers were able to increase their yield by three fold.
Organization for Relief and Development of Amhara ( ORDA) reported about it even if it gave credit not for me but as if the farmers used Rwandan technology. But that is my science as Rwandese called it Azene’s terrace. If there is an opportunity to abate drought from Ethiopia, I am very happy to work paid or unpaid. But now, when we see things, we are not yet ready.
Would you say something about the green legacy initiative led by Prime Minister Abiy?
I appreciate the effort of Dr. Abiy but we missed the opportunity to maximize the endeavor. This makes me sad. If you look at the types planted in friendship square is Melia azedarach was there. The tree that should be planted is, Azadirachta indica. I hope no one needs a plant that missed its leaf in one time. Such errors would not have been observed if we worked together. So what makes me sad is unable to work coherently to make tasks effective.
Ethiopia is now on the verge of establishing a new government following the sixth election. As an agro-forester, do you have a message to convey for the government?
Any country in the universe has a land use plan in order to classify the land for different purposes. If there is the absence of this plan, it is difficult to think about prosperity.
If we do not use every plot of land properly, we will understand it right after we lose it. In the name of agriculture for food self-sufficiency, or heading with erroneous thought and outlook, Ethiopia would be more seriously affected than ever before. If you interfere with nature, if you renew nature, nature will renew you as Prof. Wangary Mattay said.
Thus, Ethiopia should do a land use plan. There is a roadmap but the country put it aside. Even if it is full, a policy document was presented so as to approve it when it is necessary. It should make it practical. As much as possible, the government has to do environment protection works and natural resource tasks independently. Why do we seek donor support? Why would we be self-reliant via developing our own strategy? For this to happen, we have to look at things in a new spirit.
First of all the government needs to be a challenger. How much does every ministry deliver? When do similar ministries work in an integrated manner? We should not work for the achievement of a single entity, but rather, we would measure our achievements by the cumulative results as a whole. If one way is not workable, there must be another way out. Does Ethiopia want to continue as agrarian? Are these countries developed? If agriculture contributes over 15 percent to GDP, these countries are labeled as poor.
When we come to ours, it exceeds 30 percent. We have to plough the land below 30 percent and we feed Ethiopia nine times more than Rwanda and ensure food self-sufficiency. As much as possible, we need to search for a way to apply scientific research. We need to look at various options before it is too late.
Thank you very much.
It is my pleasure.
The Ethiopian Herald September 18/2021
